Now that hot, humid weather has hit my area (NC, USA), there will be no more
candy-making until Fall. I was wondering what other folks do during the warm
months. Give up all candy-making? Switched to baked chocolate goods
(although the idea of turning on the oven doesn't sound like fun, either)?
Sit in front of the A/C unit and gobble chocolate before it melts?

My DH started a beer-making hobby after Christmas (he got a Mr. Beer as a
present) and has now decided it's too hot to brew beer, also. I guess we
could both pursue other diversions.... but we already have 5 kids. ;-P

--
Wendy
http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm
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"frood" > wrote in message .com>...
> Now that hot, humid weather has hit my area (NC, USA), there will be no more
> candy-making until Fall. I was wondering what other folks do during the warm
> months. Give up all candy-making? Switched to baked chocolate goods
> (although the idea of turning on the oven doesn't sound like fun, either)?
> Sit in front of the A/C unit and gobble chocolate before it melts?
>
> My DH started a beer-making hobby after Christmas (he got a Mr. Beer as a
> present) and has now decided it's too hot to brew beer, also. I guess we
> could both pursue other diversions.... but we already have 5 kids. ;-P

I put all my chocolate in a wine cooler set on a low setting. That
keeps my chocolate from melting, and it doesn't get too cold either.
Wine coolers are unlike refrigerators because they are designed to
keep wine chilled, not cold. Thus, it works perfectly for chocolate.

at Tue, 11 May 2004 22:41:34 GMT in
> ,
(frood) wrote :

>Now that hot, humid weather has hit my area (NC, USA), there will be no
>more candy-making until Fall. I was wondering what other folks do during
>the warm months. Give up all candy-making? Switched to baked chocolate
>goods (although the idea of turning on the oven doesn't sound like fun,
>either)?

Easy. Think chocolate ice cream, chocolate pudding, chocolate mousse,
chocolate parfait - all those great desserts that are cool and chocolatey.

As posted, a wine cooler is effective. So is a cool, odour free basement.
If you've got A/C in the house, there's no problem anyway. If you've got an
air conditioned workplace, a desk drawer is also usually pretty safe.

Actually, ordinary chocolate bars are, I think, a bit inappropriate during
the summer anyway - rather dense and rich. Not that I'll refuse one, of
course, but it always does seem like a good time to explore the wide range
of possibilities involving chocolate and whipped cream, whipped eggs, or
custard bases.

--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

In article >, Peter wrote:
> I put all my chocolate in a wine cooler set on a low setting. That
> keeps my chocolate from melting, and it doesn't get too cold either.
> Wine coolers are unlike refrigerators because they are designed to
> keep wine chilled, not cold. Thus, it works perfectly for chocolate.

I've seen variations on this suggestion before. A truffle-making class
I took at a cooking school in Sonoma (Northern California wine country)
went so far as to suggest that we simply keep our chocolate in our wine
*cellar*. Well, gee, why didn't I think of that? The nods of agreement
around the room confirmed just how far out of the leisure class I was.
And I don't even drink wine, so I haven't invested in a wine fridge.

I live in an apartment in San Francisco; it has no cool cellar of any
kind, and it doesn't have A/C ("You don't need one, it doesn't get hot
up here!"). Of course, it does get hot occasionally, and one 85-degree
day will ruin all of my chocolate. I've taken to wrapping and freezing
my best chocolate (defrosting it in the fridge before use, of course),
and leaving the rest in the fridge risking odor contamination and sugar
bloom - definitely not what I'd prefer to do.

So does anyone have other ideas about chocolate storage for those of us
on the low end of the real estate totem pole? Or if a wine fridge is
the only good alternative, does anyone have recommendations for a cheap
one that's just big enough for, say, a few boxes of Valrhona feves?

Thanks.

Blake

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